Research

My research is multidisciplinary and combines ecology, evolutionary biology, neuroscience and psychology to study behaviour. I use a variety of techniques as part of my research, including behavioural observations, experiments, neurophysiology and agent-based modelling of neural and evolutionary processes. My work combines diverse approaches to provide an integrative understanding of behaviour.

Attention-like process in insects

Insect brains are orders of magnitude smaller than primate brains. Yet they solve several of the same visual problems that primates do – often with smart, efficient solutions. One of the most important of these problems is that of selective attention – choosing one target and ignoring the distractors, something that is vital for foraging or avoiding predators. With funding from a BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship, we are investigating how insects manage to do so by combining insights from neuroscience, psychology and ecology. The research will also investigate the role these attention-like processes play in pollination and in particular how pesticides might affect the sensory systems of pollinators. More details about the project here.

Stereo vision and prey detection in the praying mantis

(c) Newcastle University Pic: Mike Urwin

Praying mantises are the only invertebrates known to have stereo vision. In collaboration with Prof Jenny Read and Dr Ronny Rosner, my research investigates how they compute stereo vision and how their mechanisms of stereo vision differ from those seen in primates. This will shed light on how nervous systems evolve convergent solutions to similar problems. It could also lead to the development of novel mantis-inspired depth perception algorithms. You can read more about the project here.

The evolution of self-deception and overconfidence

Overconfidence is a cognitive bias that has been implicated in financial meltdowns, disasters and wars. It can clearly have serious and dangerous consequences. What then are the evolutionary advantages that enable it to persist? Robert Trivers proposed that self deception could have evolved to facilitate the deception of others if it eliminates signals (e.g. stress) that reveal deception. This would then give overconfident individuals a social advantage. Dr Shakti Lamba and I are developing an empirical research program testing this idea in humans and other species. Our first findings are published here.